Sign Up Now for a Week-long History Experience!
Adventures in Early America
July 22-26
9:30am-12:30pm
Ages: 7+
Spend a week exploring life in early America! We will talk about Litchfield's earliest inhabitants, meet a spy, and learn about domestic life. There will be a Revolutionary War encampment at the end of the week!
Civil War Experience
August 12-16
9:30am-12:30pm
Ages: 9+
Join us for a week long camp on the Civil War as experienced by Litchfield County residents. Students will assume the identities of students that studied and lived in Litchfield. During the class they will explore our new exhibit, make hardtack, engage in the battle of Cold Harbor and investigate photography of the time period. Re-enactors of the 2nd CT Heavy Artillery will engage the students in drilling exercises and learning experiences at the end of the week.
For more information on both, click here. RSVP deadline for both camps is July 10.
History Bites has returned!
Each spring History Bites presents a series of weekly lunchtime lectures designed to bring topics of local history to the attention of the regional community. With generous funding from the Connecticut Community Foundation, this year's lecture series theme It All Starts With the Land will focus on topics related to land use by agriculture, forestry, and industry. The lunchtime lectures will be hosted on Thursdays between March and June from 12:00 to 1:00pm. Lectures are free and open to the public. For more information and to see the schedule, click here.Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town
by Rachel Carley
Now Available!
The first history of Litchfield to be published in nearly 100 years, this lively portrait of the town is sumptuously illustrated with rarely seen maps, photographs, and paintings.
Architectural historian, preservation consultant, and local resident Rachel Carley engages readers with an expansive view of the town's rich heritage through its buildings and landscapes in Litchfield Village, Bantam, Northfield, Milton, and South Farms.
For more information and to order the book, go to the Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town page.
The Ledger Is Live!
The Ledger is a comprehensive online searchable database that presents the stories of two nationally significant educational institutions, the Litchfield Law School and the Litchfield Female Academy. The Law School, founded by Tapping Reeve in 1784, was the first of its kind in the country and attracted over 1,200 students from 13 states and territories. Sarah Pierce founded the Female Academy in 1792 which drew an estimated 3,000 girls to Litchfield over the school’s 41 year history.
The words, artwork and personal belongings of the students together with biographical and genealogical information will now be available at a user’s fingertips. The Ledger links materials held in private collections and by various public institutions together providing users with as much information as possible on each individual student. If you have any additional information on an existing student or feel that you may know of a student who attended one of the schools and is not included in the database please contact the Curator of Collections at 860-567-4501 or curator@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.
